Dark World Rising
by Ithileon
Summary: In the aftermath of Dimitri, Chelsea Hansen wants to put the whole thing behind her and move on, but unseen forces move to suck her back into a world she wants no part of. As anyone who's had such an encounter can say, the supernatural world doesn't let go so easily. Will she free herself from the darkness, or adapt to it?
1. Chapter 1

**Having never written from the viewpoint of a bratty teenage girl, I thought I'd give it a try. That said, I might not capture such a personality in writing, but I'm willing to do my best.**

**I don't own **_**Mom's Got A Date With A Vampire**_**. If I did, Dimitri would've been dusted on screen BtVS style.**

Chelsea spread the rug out over the floor and slumped into a chair with a sigh of relief. It had taken a few trips to and from her car, but at last all her stuff was in the room. Sighing, the blonde stood up and started unpacking, musing on her home life.

The last couple years in the Hansen household had been . . . difficult, for lack of a better word. Chelsea snorted to herself as she placed the hanging shelves in the closet. It had all started when she and her brother Adam had been grounded the weekend they happened to have plans. She had a date, he had a concert. Adam had this bright idea to set their mother Lynette up on a date so they would be free to go out and come back as they chose. Mom's date turned out to be a bloodsucking creature of the night. Her youngest brother Taylor, realizing the guy was a vampire, had called Malachi Van Helsing, a.k.a. the vampire hunter, in order to help them. After a chase lasting most of the night and nearly ending with the vampire, Dimitri, turning them all into his vampire slaves, Mom broke free of the vampire's trance and shoved him into his coffin, which Malachi sealed shut with silver plated nails. He then accompanied them home for breakfast . . . and never left. She loved her mother, she really did, but honestly felt like the hunter had overstayed his welcome. Methodically placing various garments, bed sheets, and towels on the various shelves, Chelsea's thoughts turned to what her life had become since Van Helsing entered her life.

She wasn't sure how old he was, but he somehow managed to be good for Mom and bad for them at the same time. He had frequently taken Mom out for dinner, movies, dancing or some combination of them, and when he wasn't doing that he was educating the Hansen siblings on supernatural creatures. His "lessons" were taken from a large ancient leather-bound book that was part encyclopedia and part grimoire. The standard entry used a two page format: the left-hand page contained a hand drawn picture of the creature, a hand written description, list of habitats and behaviors, while the right-hand page contained a list if rituals concerning the creature, such as which parts of it were useful in potions or spells, and how they interacted with others. There were ways to safely interact with the creatures whether they were benign or malevolent, including how to summon the former for relocation or banish the latter to its destruction.

The only problem was the book's organization: the entries were all alphabetical and tended to overlap. The entry on werewolves named them a subset of werebeasts, shapeshifters and therianthropes, the only difference between them was control. As best she could tell, therianthrope included both shifter and werebeast; the former could learn control and assume their alternate form at any time, the latter had no choice. It was the same with other types of creatures, so while the book was a good reference for supernatural creatures, it utterly sucked at categorizing.

The thought crossed her mind now, as she hung her jeans next to the shelves and reached for her bath caddy, that he must have been born in the age of chivalry. As she had gotten closer to graduation, he had pulled her aside more often to teach her how to defend herself.

"Vampires love the taste of blood, especially untainted blood. Virgin blood." He'd explained when she didn't appear to understand. She'd thought "untainted" meant free of drugs or alcohol, and promptly blanched at the clarification. Apparently as a young and single female, various creatures would be drawn to her and not all of them for pure reasons. Thus it was important to know how to protect herself, from anything or anyone who meant to harm her. She appreciated the concern, but all she really wanted to do was put the incident with Dimitri behind her and hide behind her own ignorance. When he gave her a silver cross necklace for her seventeenth birthday, the first time he'd ever done such a thing, it became clear that Malachi wouldn't be leaving any time soon, prompting Chelsea to look at colleges at least ninety minutes away.

Another good reason for the distance was the anonymity she prayed it would bring. While not one of the popular kids, she hadn't been an outcast either. That had changed when she'd stood up her boyfriend to go tearing after a vampire. The breakup had been loud and rather public, despite her apologies and explanation that Adam had set their mother up on a date with a madman (the explanation that Malachi had agreed they could use). High School became a nightmare after that, as thanks to Adam's shortsightedness Chelsea had no friends. Sure, the outcasts were friendly enough, but even they had their shortcomings.

Achieving the necessary grades for acceptance into the college of her choice (three hours from home), a very proud Lynette let Chelsea borrow the car, to Adam's vocal displeasure.

_What a moron._ Chelsea thought, turning from the closet to the bed. Her thoughts turned to her family as she fought with the bed sheets. Adam was sixteen and constantly moody. The self-proclaimed "monster master" was getting tired of Malachi's lessons, preferring to think of other things. He joined the school's baseball team and was threatened by Mom more than once to bust his butt and maintain the necessary grades or she'd beat sense into him with his own bat. Taylor had recently turned eleven and Chelsea had to spend a couple hours consoling him when he didn't get a Hogwarts letter.

Placing her suitcases inside one another, she slid them onto a shelf in her closet, placed the empty boxes, crates and her laundry basket under the bed, and organized her snacks in a storage cube that doubled as an ottoman. She took time to admire the single room, which was the size of her previous dorm minus the furniture of a roommate. Placing her school supplies in various desk drawers, she left her half empty soda bottle in the fridge before flopping onto the bed and thinking about her first few weeks at college.

Her classes this semester weren't much different from their high school counterparts. She had English 101, Spanish 101, College Algebra, Biology, and the First Year Seminar. The last one was the most useless class she'd taken to date. Basically the course was designed to lead freshmen around by the hand for a semester, at which point the university assumed they no longer needed help. By the end of the first week Chelsea knew each major was mostly isolated to one building, how to use the library's new computers, and where the on campus clinic was, she didn't need a class to tell her any of that. Then there were the professors. Again like her previous schooling, there were good professors who could make a boring class interesting, and bad professors who could make an interesting class boring. As for the students, they ran the scale from having no life beyond school work to not really caring about it. And then there was her first roommate . . .

Her name was Donna Jean, a girl who was raised in the bad part of town who thought that the sole reason for the existence of college was to party. She smoked, drank, did drugs, and frequently brought Boomer look-alikes back to their dorm and let them sleep with her. Chelsea put up with it for about four weeks before she'd finally had enough, enough of the cigarette smell, enough of Donna Jean's drinking- and drug-induced throwing up everywhere, enough of her boy toys who were always higher than kites and constantly harassing her. She had attempted to put a stop to it herself, explaining Donna Jean's habits made her uncomfortable and could she please stop bringing guys back to their room. The other girl had responded with a volley of insults and derogatory remarks, deciding that she was going to Housing and make them move _Chelsea_ out. She made sure the door slammed shut when she left.

The R.A. Michelle had been more than understanding, despite the fact it was 2 AM on a Saturday. With her own roommate having gone home for the weekend, Chelsea was allowed to stay the night while Michelle told Donna Jean in no uncertain terms that she could not drink or do drugs on campus, and that having boys stay in an all-girls dorm overnight was not allowed. Donna Jean had responded by flipping her off and saying that she would do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. She'd been expelled the following morning, and if the rumor mill was to be believed something, _unpleasant_, had happened to all her boyfriends.

Chelsea had made a quick trip to the nearest Wal-Mart for some clean clothes and spent the rest of the weekend doing laundry until the horrible smell came out of her linens. Aware they had to uphold their reputation, the university had deigned her previous dorm unfit to live in quickly moved her into a very nice suite near the edge of the campus.

Blowing a strand of hair out of her face, Chelsea surveyed her new domain. Her sheets, comforter, and towels were all some shade of blue. She found it calming, personally, from the ice blue comforter on the bed to the blue violet rug on the floor. The only thing missing was her new roommate. Stretching out on her bed, she hoped this roommate was easier to get along with than her previous one.

_Wonder when she'll be back?_ Chelsea mused, sliding off the bed to have another look at the place. The walls and ceiling were white, the plush carpet was a cream color, and the couch was dark red. The kitchenette cabinets, table, and chairs were white oak wood with matching bookshelves, coffee table and TV stand. The sinks were stainless steel with black countertops, and the oven, dishwasher, and fridge looked brand new. The bathroom was very nice as well, and she only had to share it with one other person. Her third story window overlooked the park, a rather popular place for more than just college students. The whole suite screamed affluence.

She glanced into the other bedroom. Her roommate seemed to prefer greens and purples. Her sheets were teal, the comforter was a dark green, and a lavender blanket was neatly folded at the foot of the bed. Curious, Chelsea glanced in the desk drawers. The top played host to various school supplies, including pencils, pens, a calculator, a stapler, and a couple packs of paper. The middle contained a sketchbook and a large box of colored pencils, while the bottom was full of snacks and bottled water.

Closing each drawer, she returned to her own room, slid a well-read copy of _Return of the King_ out of her bag and flipped it open. Denethor had just committed suicide when a soft voice said, "Hi."

Startled, Chelsea glanced up at the newcomer – and promptly became self-conscious. The other girl was beautiful, her skin a little darker than Chelsea's, her dark brown hair falling in loose waves to her shoulders, and her brown eyes seemed to be giving Chelsea a similar analysis. She slid off the bed to introduce herself.

"Hi, I'm Chelsea Hansen."

"Alexandra Verastegui." She replied, taking Chelsea's offered hand. The blonde couldn't help but analyze Alexandra. Her name was Hispanic, as was the faint accent, but her appearance was not. Again, she prayed they would get along as Alexandra released her hand.

"I guess the University told you about me?" Chelsea asked, leaving her book on the bed and following Alexandra into the kitchenette.

"I asked if the University would assign me one should the situation arise. They contacted me last week to let me know. I'm sorry I wasn't here to help you move in."

"That's alright." Chelsea reassured her, aware she was blushing and fighting to ignore it. Alexandra smiled at her before reaching into a cabinet above the sink and pulling out a couple glasses.

"Lemonade?"

"Please."

It was real lemonade too, not something purchased from the store. Chelsea relaxed on her end of the couch, feeling better than she had in weeks.

"I don't mean to pry, but what made you decide to move?"

Chelsea's good mood evaporated. Gently placing the empty glass on the coffee table, she all but snapped, "My roommate and I weren't compatible."

"Oh?"

Chelsea shivered, wondering how much she could say. She didn't want to sound like a whiny teenage girl, but since the fallout of the Dimitri incident she tended to bottle things up. Worse though was the thought that she would alter Alexandra's perception of her. The other girl seemed content to wait for an answer. Chelsea glanced up, meeting the other girl's eyes and spoke without thinking, "She's the whiniest, most disgusting person I've ever met! She smokes, drinks, parties, does drugs, brings random guys back to our room and lets them sleep with her! And when I asked her to stop because what she was doing made me uncomfortable she cussed me out and went to ask Housing to move me! I mean, who does that?"

Alexandra was quiet for a minute, during which time Chelsea calmed down enough for what she'd said to catch up with her. She had just started to get up when Alexandra's hand on her shoulder pulled her back down.

"Some say humans are the most dangerous creatures out there, as the only beings with the capability to plan the ruin of others." She glanced at Chelsea for a minute. "Would a hug help?"

Chelsea all but fell into her arms, happy she hadn't screwed this up and put one source of stress behind her. Alexandra smiled at her before picking up the now empty glasses and taking them to the kitchenette to be washed. Chelsea settled back against the couch with a satisfied sigh.

_I could get used to this._

As she placed the last suitcase in the trunk of the car, a green '99 Malibu, Chelsea mused on the past eight weeks. Without the constant presence of Donna Jean, Chelsea's concentration improved and her grades along with it, as evidenced by her mother's delighted squealing over midterm results and calling every family member she had a phone number for to deliver the good news.

Most of the inhabitants in her new dorm were from upper class families, not that anyone would notice from their behavior. Amy and Shelby lived across the hall and watched a movie or two every Saturday, inviting the whole floor to attend provided you brought your own snacks and drinks. Francis (preferred Frankie) was the dorm's resident tutor. Anyone with a homework problem went to her, where she patiently explained what was being done wrong and correct it. Jessica and her cat lived at the end of the hall. Said cat was fluffy, affectionate, and determined to escape the dorm by any means possible. Chelsea got along with all of them, was on good terms with everyone else in the dorm, and finally felt like she belonged. This was what life should be like, no crazy vampire hunters, no monster-tracking lessons, and no annoying siblings.

A sense of concern colored her thoughts as she closed the trunk. Alexandra, who preferred to be called Alexi, hadn't been feeling well since midterm. They used to get up at the same time and review their notes from the previous classes over breakfast before getting ready to leave. Chelsea, a light sleeper, was still rising at seven, dressing, brushing her hair, eating breakfast, brushing her teeth and reviewing previous notes, but now she was doing it alone. While Alexi couldn't exactly rouse herself at the drop of a hat, now she slept like the dead until eight and couldn't function without at least two industrial sized cups of strong black coffee in her system, which she drank without sugar, cream, or any sort of flavoring. It took some coaxing on Chelsea's part to get her to eat something before class, made all the more difficult by her lack of appetite. Her skin paled, she complained of headaches and dizziness, and was prone to bouts of irritability. By evening however Alexi was highly animated and wouldn't shut up. The difference was too extreme not to stand out, and from Chelsea's viewpoint it was almost like rooming with two different people.

After nearly missing classes the previous Friday and accidently keeping Chelsea awake with idle chatter until almost three in the morning that same weekend, the blonde expressed her concern for the brunette and begged her, as her friend, to see a doctor. The dark-haired girl promised she would the Saturday after Thanksgiving, further placating Chelsea by promising to call her when she got home.

Now, as Chelsea's car sped down the highway Tuesday evening, intent on getting home before the Thanksgiving rush started, her thoughts turned to her own family. She didn't think she would be able to stand facing Malachi, his lessons, and his stupid book again.

_He won't be there, he won't be there, he won't be there . . ._ Or so she told herself. He'd never spent holidays with them before, instead trying to limit the damage vampires or other creatures could cause. Apparently it was easier to catch a drunk human than a sober one.

Chelsea left the noisy interstate behind for a more familiar road, slowing down to appreciate the twilit landscape that meant she was close to home. Marked by farmland on her left and a wooded area to her right, she reveled in the sights, sounds, and smells that managed to calm her down after a long or stressful few weeks on campus. She rolled down the window to feel the wind on her face and in her hair, inhaling the scent of autumn leaves, the faintest whiff of pumpkin pie, and listening to the bleating of sheep and the distant barking of a dog. To the east a crescent moon was rising, its light too weak to block many stars. This was the best part of coming home, when she could relax and unwind even before getting there. She took a deep breath and released it slowly, perfectly calm for the first time in what felt like years. Everything about the evening was peaceful. As the lights of city became visible over the crest of the hill, letting Chelsea know she was getting closer to her destination, she heard something that made her hair stand on end.

An eerie moan sounded nearby, followed by a loud bark that caused sheep to bleat in panic and every dog in the vicinity to go crazy. Chelsea forced herself to remain calm, not easy especially after hearing a growl much closer to her. A moan, a growl, and a bark. Growls and barks were common among predators, particularly dogs and wolves, but not moans.

"Probably not a dog then." She told herself, discarding scraps of information on supernatural canines from Malachi's book. A roar sounded near her car, and that was it as far as Chelsea's courage went. She hit the gas and kept her eyes firmly on the road and rapidly approaching city lights while her imagination kicked into overdrive.

Werebeasts were enslaved by whatever triggered their transformation. Said transformations, archaically enough, seemed ruled by astronomy. The canine, vulpine, and lupine responded to the moon; the animals in both the Western and the Chinese Zodiacs responded to the corresponding sign; other creatures were ruled by planetary alignment or the season. It was mid to late autumn, so most creatures were either migrating or trying to eat as much as they could before hibernating. At this point she glanced in the rearview mirror and felt the blood drain out of her face.

A trio of animals, all three solid black with luminous white eyes, lumbered onto the road. The largest one heaved itself onto its hind legs and let out a roar before charging after her.

"Not good." Chelsea moaned, outright flooring it. The city's lights were getting closer and she hoped she got there before whatever the three creatures were ran her car off the road. The lights, the noise, and the smells would hopefully be enough to disorient whatever might be following her. The moaning started again, this time accompanied by frenzied roaring. The lead monster swiped at the bumper and missed by inches

The green car flew past the city limits and the creatures stopped like they'd hit a wall. She slowed down and glanced in the mirror again. All three were pacing in agitation, the largest roaring in frustration at the loss of its prey. Not sure if her tears were caused by relief or frustration, Chelsea made her way home as fast as the speed limit allowed. And because her life sucked that much, the only person home when she pulled into the driveway was the hunter himself. She'd grabbed her purse from the passenger seat and entered the house at top speed, slamming the door shut behind her and leaning against it gasping for air.

"Welcome home Chelsea. Your mom went to pick up a few things from the store, but she'll be back soon."

Chelsea said nothing, only tried to get her breathing under control. Of course you didn't survive as a freak hunter by being stupid, "What happened?"

"Were . . . beasts . . ."

"How many?"

Chelsea held up three fingers before doubling over. To her embarrassment, Malachi carried her to the couch, ignoring her protests. He handed her a glass of water and asked where they were. She answered his questions to the best of her ability, somehow keeping her face blank as he gathered his supplies and went hunting. She waited ten minutes after his departure to smirk and get the rest of her things out of the trunk.

Alexi's idea of taking as much of her stuff home before Christmas as possible was a good one, as was getting extra personal hygiene things now instead of right before classes started the next semester. All the clothing she owned took up three suitcases and a duffel bag; the three suitcases had come home with her. Unpacking the majority of her stuff before going back would save time when she came home for Christmas as it left her less to do. After dragging all three luggage pieces up the stairs and into her room, she started with the largest and worked her way down, hoping it would tire her out enough to convince her mom she wouldn't be able to help bring in groceries. Storing the suitcases inside each other and sliding them into her closet before hiding her purse so Adam couldn't find it left her just enough time to run back down to the couch and pretend to be sleeping.

She guessed she really did fall asleep because the next thing she knew Taylor was screaming, "Chelsea's home!" and jumping onto the couch.

"Oh Chelsea! We weren't expecting you until morning." Lynette said in surprise as she greeted her daughter with a hug.

"Thought I'd beat the rush." Chelsea replied with a shrug.

"You weren't speeding were you?"

Biting back the retort about everyone speeding on the interstate, she merely shook her head. Lynette rolled her eyes but said nothing; it was hard to ground someone who was legally an adult and attending college three hours away.

"Your roommate called by the way. Alexandra, I think? She said she was home."

"And she sounded hot." Adam said, "Think you could set me up-"

"First of all, she's too old for you. Second, you're not her type." Chelsea interrupted. Okay she'd made up that second part, as neither of them had discussed dating.

"It was nice of her to let you know. By the way, what's she like? Is she better than your last one?" Lynette continued. How she restrained herself from driving up there and taking care of the other girl herself she would never know. She'd been so glad to hear Donna Jean would never come near her daughter again, although she ignored Malachi's paranoia that the fate her boy toys just screamed "supernatural."

"I was so glad to get out of there Mom, Alexandra's so much nicer than Donna Jean and she was happy to have a roommate. She didn't like Donna Jean very much."

"How come she called?" Taylor asked.

Chelsea ruffled his hair, "She's been sick. She sleeps all the time, she's cranky when she gets up, and she barely eats. I was really worried about her so I made her promise to see a doctor over the break and she promised to call me when she got home."

Lynette looked worried to hear about it, "Maybe I should fix some soup for her . . ."

"I'm sure her parents will take care of her Mom." Chelsea replied. From what she'd seen, Alexi and her parents were very close. They talked on the phone every night for an hour or longer, sometimes in Spanish, and if Chelsea didn't know better, she'd say Alexi's parents were just as concerned about her as her own mother was about Alexi. Either way she'd be taking something back for her roommate, and she'd yet to meet anyone who turned down her mother's cooking!

As Lynette slid a frozen pizza into the oven for her, Chelsea breathed a little easier. Malachi probably wouldn't be back until late Sunday, by which time she would be back at school, and hopefully able to come up with a plan to get him off her back when summer rolled around. In the meantime she could look forward to a few days worth of home cooked meals and some time to relax before finals began. Those were things to be thankful for!

Silence was another thing to be thankful for and was Chelsea glad to get it back! Malachi had repeated his original questions after he hauled himself through the front door Wednesday morning along with a few others that went way over her head. He'd had all of them in the guest room while he lectured them on how to repel werebeasts without placing yourself in harm's way, and made sure Chelsea had her silver cross with her before leaving after dinner for the holiday weekend. As for the holiday itself, it was noisy as heck.

She'd never liked these family gatherings, feeling they were too few and far between to really get to know her cousins. Adam was the closest to her in age, but she was the only one actually in college right now. The others were either in public school, or had graduated college and gotten jobs. Between Taylor's relatively innocent stories and Adam's (made up she was sure) stories about being the next Mark Maguire (oh yeah, he _definitely_ made that up), Chelsea was normally left to her own devices, like staring out the window. Her oldest cousin's fiancée, Ashley, talked to her for a while, asking about her classes, her roommate, and living away from home. Chelsea told her everything, including Donna Jean, which led to the calm and quiet Ashley muttering a few choice words about the stupid girl who had thrown her life away. After dinner she gave Chelsea her phone number if she ever wanted to talk.

Black Friday dawned with the promise of a torrential downpour, not that it stopped the massive crowds pouring into malls across the country. Chelsea had a few choice words herself. If Malachi hadn't been an overprotective moron she could've taken care of her hygienic needs before the madness began, but _no_. Malachi wouldn't let something go if it brought backup and threatened murder. She spent most of the day lounging on the couch while Mom braved the madness of the nearest mall and the two boys were over at the park.

Ice cream floats were the order of the day, even if she made herself sick eating nothing but vanilla ice cream with Mountain Dew. The first two _Alien_ movies, a quart of vanilla and a liter of Mountain Dew later, Chelsea decided sugar, caffeine and sci-fi did not mix well and decided to sleep it off. The sugar/caffeine/sci-fi combo mixed with her memories of the Dimitri incident and the what-ifs that had plagued her for weeks afterward, resulting in nightmares of her, Adam, Taylor, and their mother being bitten. The nightmares tormented her until something brushed them away.

_It's alright. Go back to sleep._

It sounded like Alexi. She trusted Alexi, and was too tired to fight the compulsion anyway. By the time she woke up Saturday morning, she decided to risk a trip to the grocery store so she wouldn't have to purchase anything before the second semester began. The rest of the day was spent playing board games with her family.

The wind had a bite to it Sunday morning as Chelsea got ready to drive back, tossing her purse into the passenger seat and her purchases on the floor in front of it, next to a gallon of her mother's taco soup. Normally she would wait until later in the afternoon, but her encounter with the werebeasts left her shaken and hoping to get back to school well before nightfall.

Even in daylight it was clear something big had been lurking around the area. Grass had been flattened under large ursine paws. Bears weren't even native to the area, and these prints were larger than a grizzly's. A part of her wondered absently how the police were handling it. Putting it out of her mind, she dug for a tape to listen to. When the music started she glanced in the rearview, seeing a black Impala pull into the closest driveway to the paw prints and a couple men in suits get out. Eyes narrowing, she pulled onto the interstate and floored it, singing along with the music as she set the cruise control.

Alexi wasn't there when Chelsea walked in, so she placed the soup in the fridge and her hygienic stuff in the closet. She reread her notes from her previous classes and scanned the appropriate readings to make she knew what they would be talking about before flipping on the television and nodding off. When she woke up there was a cool hand on her forehead and a blanket covering the rest of her.

She started nervously and forced her eyes open, greeted by a familiar voice, "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"Alexi?"

The voice turned teasing, "Unless you have company and didn't tell me."

Chelsea shook off the sleepiness and sat up, rubbing one eye and fixing the other on her roommate. She looked much healthier, which was a relief to Chelsea as she stood and pulled the girl into a hug. Alexi stiffened slightly before returning the gesture.

"How are you feeling?"

"Much better. The doctor said it was iron deficiency, that I'll have to make some adjustments to my diet but I'm not in any danger."

"What kind of adjustments?"

For the briefest instant, Chelsea thought she saw a flash of something in Alexi's eyes before the dark-haired girl replied, "More red meat, and maybe some seafood. I won't have to change too much about my eating habits and we keep the fridge well-stocked as it is. I did mention having a roommate, that I would do nothing to endanger her health, but they said so long as we pay attention to portion size we'd be fine."

Chelsea nodded, happy her friend was okay.

Finals approached rapidly, professors piling on so much extra work it didn't seem fair. She spent so much time in the library researching and compiling her notes into coherent study guides she didn't often see her roommate after their only shared class. From what little she did see, Alexi's health had rapidly improved. The color returned to her skin, her temperament mellowed out, and her appetite increased. That was all she knew however, between classes, homework, and essays she barely had time to take care of herself. She awoke one morning slumped over her desk and had to drag herself into the kitchen, scarfing down a quick breakfast before rushing to class.

Alexi did a double take at her entrance that evening and her eyes widened with concern, "Chelsea you look terrible!"

"Gee thanks." She replied sarcastically, practically falling into her chair. Apparently she _looked_ as bad as she felt.

Alexi's eyes missed nothing, "You need sleep."

"No I don't." she snapped.

Alexi let it go, albeit reluctantly, watching as she inhaled her dinner and went to her room. It was well past midnight when she closed a textbook and started crying. She couldn't do it. It was too much. This stupid assignment was due Monday and she had a half dozen just like it. Deciding a break would help, she padded into the living area. Alexi was watching TV, though how she could hear it with the volume so low was beyond Chelsea's understanding.

"Evening moonshine." Alexi greeted dryly, "The stars say hello."

Chelsea managed to drink enough water to soothe her dry throat before answering, "'M sorry I snapped at you."

The couch creaked as she shifted her weight, "I understand. You're stressed that's all."

Her eyes closed and almost didn't open again, "What time izit?"

"Two in the morning." When Chelsea didn't answer, she continued, "You need a break. Sit down for a while and maybe I'll find something that's not stupid, childish or rated R."

Her eyes were wide and pleading and Chelsea gave in without a fight, "Okay. But not for long."

She sat on the couch next to Alexi and watched her flip through channels. After about five minutes they were both wrapped in a blanket and the brunette's fingers were stroking her hair. Alexi finally found something to watch, something on the History Channel, but Chelsea's awareness had shrunk to the warmth of the blanket, Alexi's fingers in her hair, the fact her head was resting on the other girl's shoulder. It was getting harder to keep her eyes open, harder to convince herself to get up and get back to work.

"You don't want to."

No, no she didn't.

"You'd rather sleep."

Sleep sounded good right now. But she had to get her homework done. Chelsea tried resisting but her body rebelled. She was completely limp, and the continued stroking wasn't helping.

"Close your eyes and let sleep take you. Rest in the peace only the black oblivion can bring."

She felt Alexi's arms encircle and pull her closer before the darkness claimed her.

**From Sci-Fi to Supernatural, not bad for a beginner. I noticed how sparse this group of fics was and decided to add one of my own.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello readers! Thought I'd get this out before finals week. Chapter 3 is in progress.**

Chelsea wasn't sure what prompted her slow return to consciousness. What she did know what that she was comfortable, warm, and didn't want to move. When enough of her brain cells reconnected, she realized the sun was in her eyes. Squeezing them shut, she pawed for the blanket and tugged it over her head with a muffled whine. A few more of her brain cells dragged themselves from the black oblivion to take stock of her body. She felt better than she had the night before, more energized . . . and hungry. Stretching like a cat after a nap, she rose to her knees and let the blanket fall to the couch.

Her neck was sore, like she'd pulled a muscle, and she ran her fingers over the skin. Digging her hand mirror out of her wardrobe, she gazed at her reflection in search of imperfections. Finding none, she smiled, replaced the mirror, and left the room. The suite was quiet as Chelsea searched the fridge for a meal she could fix with little effort. Munching at a slice of orange, she glanced toward the bedrooms and noticed the doors were wide open. Alexi usually closed hers before going to bed, leading the blonde to wonder if she was out. The bathroom door swung open and Alexi emerged, dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. She looked tired and pale again, but she greeted Chelsea with a smile when she looked up.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." She commented offhandedly, pouring herself a glass of milk. "You're very cuddly when you sleep."

The heat creeping up her face let her know how red she was right now. Alexi continued undeterred, "You shifted around a lot, like you couldn't get comfortable, and then you curled into my side and I thought you'd start purring."

Chelsea didn't say a word, just absently nibbled another orange slice.

"You okay over there?"

Her voice was higher than normal when she answered, "I'm fine."

"You're embarrassed aren't you?" she queried softly, taking in Chelsea's red face. She nodded silently and Alexi muttered under her breath.

"I keep forgetting about things like that. My parents are the really affectionate type. I get so much love at home sometimes I forget most people aren't like that."

"It's okay. Guess I was more tired than I thought huh?"

Alexi's eyes narrowed slightly and again Chelsea saw a flash of something in her eyes, "Yes, you were. When I got up this morning I just let you sleep. Half the floor heard you crying and came by to ask if you were alright. Shelby's coming down with something and the next professor to assign Frankie a project will meet with a swift and unpleasant end."

She _really_ must have been out of it if she hadn't heard any of that.

"What time is it?"

Alexi glanced at her watch, "Twelve-thirty."

Chelsea frowned, disappointed she'd lost half the day sleeping. Like Alexi could read her mind, she said, "Don't. If you're so busy trying to do homework that you can't take care of yourself then something's wrong. The university shouldn't be assigning so much work this close to finals anyway. Eat Chelsea, you look like you're gonna collapse."

The blonde finished her orange and went looking for another one while the brunette dig around the cabinets under the sink and pulled out a skillet. At her furrowed brow Alexi replied, "It's called lunch, Chelsea."

Apparently she'd skipped or slept through the normal breakfast hours, because lunch consisted of breakfast foods. Not a strip of bacon, crumb of toast, scrap of egg, solitary grape or drop of milk and juice remained when they were done and both girls washed the dishes before Alexi again talked Chelsea into finding something to watch on TV. She found a cheesy vampire movie and spent the rest of it snickering. It certainly had all the makings of one: a hot vampire with a foreign accent, a clueless and easily brainwashed girl, a capable vampire hunter, and the typical vamp-gets-staked-and-everyone-goes-home ending.

About three in the afternoon Chelsea got up to do some more homework, unaware of the surprise that awaited her there. Her notes were organized and there was an outline for every paper she'd been assigned. Very detailed outlines too, every argument well thought out. All Chelsea had to do was fill in what was missing. In short order she'd finished the six assignments due in the coming week as well as two short essays. Alexi poked her head in a little after six, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just about done. Did you-"

"I organized your notes while you were sleeping. Then I scanned the assignment sheets for your papers and came up with a few arguments for each one."

Chelsea threw her arms around the other girl, "Thank you!"

"You're welcome. And since you're done for the day, why don't we go out?"

Chelsea gave her a suspicious look, "Go out where, exactly?"

"There's a nice restaurant not far from here, I thought we'd get something to eat."

_It _was_ a nice restaurant_, Chelsea thought to herself as she relaxed in her bubble bath. The dress code was semi formal, the atmosphere relaxing and the food divine. She'd ordered the chicken parmesan, her roommate decided on a large steak. A large, rare steak. Chelsea pretended not to see the predatory gleam in the brunette's eyes as she literally salivated over every bite. She'd clearly enjoyed her meal, a little too much if the barely audible noises she was making were any judge. She pretended not to hear the noises and kept her eyes on her own plate. They had started talking at some point, detailing what happened over Thanksgiving and their plans for Christmas over dessert. Chelsea could say it was the best piece of cheesecake she'd ever had, but it was the _only_ piece of cheesecake she'd ever had. Alexi's odd behavior aside, it had been a nice evening. Wrapping herself in a fluffy towel, she absently scratched one side of her neck.

Hours later, a half-asleep Chelsea heard Alexi's voice and assumed she was talking to her parents. A glance at the clock revealed it was only half past two, and most people were asleep by this point. She rolled over with a yawn and burrowed back into the covers, almost reaching the black oblivion when Alexi's next words filtered through.

"It's getting worse Mama. The thirst . . . I have nothing to quench it, and it's only a matter of time before I get caught sinking my teeth into a piece of raw meat!"

All thoughts of sleep fled Chelsea's mind at that point, replaced by grave concern. Was Alexi getting sick again? How could she be sick if she'd gotten stronger since midterm?

A symptom of iron deficiency was craving non nutritious substances, and raw meat, whether it was frozen or thawed and dripping blood, was as non nutritious as it got. Her thoughts becoming disconnected and hazy as sleep threatened to overtake her once more, she wondered what made the thought of drinking blood so appealing. It tasted like her bedroom doorknob. Metallic. Like iron.

Chelsea's eyes flew open as a few things fell into place. Several symptoms of iron deficiency matched those of a hungry vampire, specifically the weakness, fatigue, irritability, and paleness of skin. Alexi was unusually fast and strong for a slender person who didn't appear to work out, she was practically nocturnal when she had no classes, and nearly impossible to wake up when she did sleep. Chelsea shivered when she remembered both red meat and blood were sources of iron. And there was the compulsion over Thanksgiving break, which took advantage of her fear and sleepiness at the time. Was Alexi using iron deficiency to hide her vampirism?

The idiocy of such thoughts struck her a minute later. As off as her sleep schedule was, Alexi did sleep during the night, was awake and active by day, and ate food. According to Malachi and his stupid book that wasn't possible for vampires. Alexi was the closest of her few friends on campus. At no point in the semester had she been anything other than friendly, except when she was starting to get sick, but she apologized for that. She'd never threatened Chelsea, ever, and even considering the fact she might be a vampire was stupid. Recently infected werebeast was also ruled out; Alexi never missed a class regardless of whatever astronomical phenomena was occurring, and her room showed no signs of damage from any sized werebeast trying in vain to bust its way out. Shapeshifter was out too, as Chelsea would have found evidence by now.

Or maybe she was just a girl with iron deficiency and Chelsea was overreacting. Stretching and trying to get comfortable, she curled beneath the covers and prayed her dreams wouldn't be haunted by a supernatural version of Alexi.

Neither of them slept well that night, making Sunday a day of sheer laziness. Chelsea finished the rest of her homework while Alexi kept her nose in a book. There was a tension between them now, a tension Chelsea told herself was caused by overhearing Alexi's phone call, but if she was aware of the accidental eavesdropping she didn't show it.

"You okay?" she asked, noticing the white-knuckled grip Alexi had on the book.

"Nope." She replied through clenched teeth, abandoning the book on the coffee table and digging through the fridge. Oddly enough, she hadn't finished her steak the night before, and she didn't even bother heating it up before eating it. That grossed Chelsea out, and for a second she thought she saw fangs instead of canine teeth.

Blinking, she looked again. That was not a canine tooth. Alexi grinned at her, showing two very prominent fangs. Something must have showed on her expression because Alexi's grin faded.

"Something wrong?"

"No." Chelsea answered a little too quickly. "Nothing's wrong."

The brunette's eyes narrowed slightly, "Really?"

"Really." Chelsea knew she was acting a little over-the-top, but she hoped to divert Alexi's attention in case she was some kind of creature and mental powers came into play.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Uh-huh." She replied, pretending to be engrossed in a book. Keeping her thoughts on the page, it was remarkably easier to pick up on a mental voice that wasn't hers.

_I should tell her what's wrong._

Chelsea tried focusing on the next sentence in order to block it out, but the other voice continued.

_She's my friend. She's never lied to me._

Chelsea started mouthing the words on the page, feeling Alexi's eyes on her. She felt a growing wish to listen to the voice, to obey its commands. The side of her neck itched.

_Maybe she can help me._

Chelsea shook her head, _What if she can't?_

_What if she can? What've I got to lose?_

Chelsea had to hand it to her roommate; she was good. The urge to stop resisting strengthened, but Chelsea knew if she gave in, if she got started, she wouldn't be able to stop.

_No. I can't afford to lose one of the few friends I've got here. If she can't accept it then it'll be hard living with her until summer._

The compulsion faded and Chelsea sighed in relief. Yet she also hated herself. Tipping her hand like that was a double-edged sword: she had to divulge something to get Alexi to back off, but now she would be wondering what exactly "it" was that Chelsea was trying to keep secret. She hoped that they would see each other rarely enough to pass off her own odd behavior as pre-finals stress, an excuse that would only last until after Christmas.

Alexi drew up a study schedule based around their finals, condensing her notes and organizing Chelsea's some time during the night, as Chelsea would leave papers scattered across her desk when she went to bed and wake up to find them gathered into neat stacks, Alexi's versions neatly written beside them. Chelsea envied her penmanship; the small-but-legible writing meant she could fit more notes on a page. Her own by comparison wasn't horrible, but it had gotten sloppier in her rush to record as much information as possible to study later. Alexi explained that at most she would have two finals a day with one per day being more likely, at which Chelsea hugged her and thanked her profusely. They'd both be in the suite more often, but they'd be studying a lot anyway, so Chelsea brushed it off. The news that Alexi's classes in the coming semester were evening and night classes was more welcome, since Chelsea had all morning and afternoon classes. They'd both sleep there, but they wouldn't be in the suite together very much.

By finals week, Chelsea was as prepared as she could be, she just needed to print off one more thing. The library was a ten minute walk from the suite and she promised Alexi she would be careful and back in half an hour. The walk to the library caused no problems, she printed what she needed and started back to the suite. And that's when something went wrong.

The sudden snarl made her hair stand on end. Spinning on her heel, she wound up meeting the large white eyes of a massive black bear. Two other snarls from close behind her let her know she was surrounded. What they wanted she couldn't be sure; it could be anything from a potential meal, to sexual conquest, to vengeance because the scent of Malachi and his equipment tended to linger around her. And while she knew she'd regret it later, she opened her mind and screamed for Alexi.

There was a roar of pain from somewhere behind her and against her better judgment she turned to look. A black dog was hanging from the werebear's throat, tearing at it with teeth and claws. As soon as its first victim hit the ground, the dog leapt onto the back of the second, seizing it by the scruff and shaking. The lead bear snarled, one swing of its paw sending Chelsea across the street and into somebody's car. Chelsea's back hit the rear windshield, knocking the breath out of her and breaking the glass. Her head bounced off the hood, making her go cross-eyed. Hissing in pain, she was glad there were several layers of clothing between her and whoever's car she'd just smashed into.

_I hope it isn't someone important_, was her last coherent thought before blacking out.

A second dog, this one larger, cannoned into to leader's side linebacker style, sending it sprawling into a tree several yards away. The dog's howl was loud as it continued its attack, joined by the first dog. A third black dog, this one with a curly tail like a husky, looked ready to join the fray, until it stuck its nose in the air, glanced at the unconscious human, and bounded across the street. The dog jumped onto the car, its wet nose nudging her face. Getting no response whatsoever, she whined in unease before howling. She continued to howl, joined by her mate and daughter, until lights started flicking on in nearby buildings. Satisfied, she leapt upon the closest bear and sunk her teeth into its broken neck.

The constant beeping was the first thing she heard, along with quiet voices.

"Mom?"

The speakers quieted, there was the sound of two sets of footsteps crossing the room, a door being opened and closed, and she felt fingers in her hair, "Chelsea?"

Not her mom. Reluctantly peeling an eye open, she was greeted with the fuzzy outline of her roommate.

"Alexi?"

"Oh thank god. How are you feeling?"

_Like a giant bear knocked me into somebody's car._ Chelsea thought to herself. Out loud she rasped, "What happened?"

"You were found unconscious on another student's car and there were three, giant bears across the street."

Chelsea groaned. Why her? Malachi would never give her any peace now.

"They were all dead; representatives from Fish and Wildlife took their bodies away. Classes have been cancelled for a few days and finals rescheduled for next week. The doctors said you had a mild concussion and the beginnings of hypothermia. You've been sedated for two days."

Chelsea mouthed _two days_ and knew if it wouldn't attract attention she would be screaming. Instead she took a deep breath and asked, "Has my mother been here yet?"

"Is she blonde and rather easily distracted?"

"Not how I usually describe her, but yeah I guess."

"She's been here, along with your brothers and some creepy guy in a trench coat. Gave off a 'don't mess with me' vibe. Adam thinks he's Casanova reborn and Taylor said I should wear a silver cross necklace to ward away vampires."

"If I could lift my hand I'd be slapping my forehead. Okay, finals have been rescheduled, my family's been here, I've been out of it for a couple days, and the government hauled away a trio of bears, is that about right?"

"Yes. When you didn't come back I thought something had happened. By the time I found you the bears were dead and you were unconscious. The ambulance showed up pretty soon after that. My parents are here, but they stepped out."

"Who else knows-"

"That you're in the hospital? Most of the campus knows a student was hurt when the bears showed up, they just don't know who. Frankie, Amy, Shelby, and Jessica know, but they're keeping it quiet."

"Really?"

"Really. We understand the value of privacy Chelsea." Alexi squeezed her hand before glancing toward the door. "The police want to ask you a few questions. You'll be here overnight for observation, and if all goes well you'll be discharged tomorrow."

Chelsea tried squeezing Alexi's hand in return, hating the fact she'd been drugged for so long.

"Do you want me to stay with you when the police come?"

Chelsea nodded, grateful. The last thing she wanted was to be alone with complete strangers, even if they did uphold the law.

The door opened to admit two men in suits, one with shaggy brown hair and hazel eyes, and a slightly shorter man with light brown hair and green eyes. Both were clean shaven and fairly muscular, something that would normally have Chelsea shamelessly ogling, but these two gave off a weird vibe that made her feel uncomfortable. Alexi had stiffened beside her, grip tightening on her hand until Chelsea hissed in pain.

"Good morning Miss Hansen. Steve Fleischman, FBI. This is my partner, Kevin Luttrell." The shorter man, Fleischman, greeted.

"We'd like to ask you a few questions about the bears, if that's okay?" Luttrell asked, elbowing Fleischman in the ribs to stop him ogling Alexi. "Agent Fleischman, do I need to ask you to step outside? Again?"

Fleishman glared at Luttrell but didn't glance at Alexi again, instead pulling a clipboard out of his bag and preparing to take notes.

"I guess." Chelsea replied, wondering how much she'd have to leave out and if she could get away with pummeling Malachi to a pulp.

"What were you doing out so late?"

"I had an exam the next morning, and I needed to print something off at the library."

Luttrell seemed to accept this, nodding and asking the next question, "You got that taken care of and were on your way back to your dorm, then what happened?"

Chelsea shuddered, "I didn't hear or see them coming. I heard a snarl from behind me and turned around to look. It was solid black with glowing white eyes, and it was big enough to look me in the eye even on four legs. Two others showed up and surrounded me. They just stood there and growled at me, and I was really scared."

She was starting to cry now and Alexi squeezed her hand in reassurance, "A black dog bit and scratched one bear's throat, I think the dog killed it because when it hit the ground it didn't get back up and the dog jumped onto the second bear. The bear that snuck up behind me growled and knocked me across the street with a paw. I hit somebody's car, and, the next thing I remember is waking up here."

Luttrell looked stunned. Turning to Fleischman he said, "Tell me you got that."

"Solid black bears, glowing white eyes, big enough to make eye contact with Miss Hansen despite the fact it was on four legs, a black dog killed one bear and attacked another, and the first bear knocked Miss Hansen into somebody's car. Yep I got it." After a few seconds what Fleischman said caught up to him, "Holy-"

"Okay, moving on!" Luttrell said loudly to cut off whatever his brother had been about so say. "Have you seen bears like these before?"

Chelsea dry swallowed, "Yes."

"Where?" Luttrell asked quietly, leaning forward.

"They chased me part of the way home when I went home for Thanksgiving."

Luttrell and Fleischman exchanged looks of alarm before the latter turned to her and asked, "Miss Hansen, have you noticed anything strange around campus? Cold spots, strange lights, weird smells?"

And then Chelsea knew. These weren't FBI agents, they were hunters like that idiot Malachi. Eyes narrowing, she asked a question of her own, "Why would you want to know that?"

Fleishman crossed his legs and replied, "Standard operating procedure Miss. Just trying to cover all our bases."

Chelsea snorted. The phenomena they named were related to spirits, not werebeasts or vampires, and she said she hadn't noticed any of them.

"Well I think we have everything we need." Luttrell said, standing and holding his hand out. Chelsea stared at it for minute, like touching it would make her sick, before reluctantly shaking it.

"Thank you Miss Hansen. Hope you feel better soon." Fleischman said, and the two walked out the door.

"I don't think they were FBI." Chelsea muttered when the door shut and the footsteps faded.

"I agree. It isn't their place to investigate matters of the natural world." She sat up straighter, like she heard something, before relaxing again. "Mind if I grab a bite? I'll bring something back if you want."

"You go on. I'm not hungry."

Alexi smiled at her and left in search of what Chelsea hoped was food and not some poor sucker's neck. Feeling suddenly drained, Chelsea decided to take a quick nap. When she woke up she was wearing the stupid silver cross necklace and Malachi was sitting next to her bed. Keeping her eyes closed, she noticed the weird smells that hung around Malachi. He smelled like incense, wood smoke, and oils. The itch was back, this time accompanied by a sense of danger.

"Can you hear me Chelsea?"

"Go 'way." She said sleepily, rolling onto her side and turning her back to him.

"I'm sorry Chelsea but I need you to wake up."

"Leave me alone."

"You have to tell me what hap-"

Chelsea growled under her breath and shouted, "MOM! MAKE HIM GO AWAY!"

"Your mom took your brothers to lunch and won't be back for a while."

Irritated, Chelsea threw the covers off and sat up, snapping, "Gee, that's really convenient!"

"I get that you're angry, but I have to know what happened so we can prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future."

Either Malachi was some kind of misogynist or had no way of knowing she got mad every time he opened his mouth. She sent him an icy glare, wishing he would get it through his head that she wanted no part in whatever his little scheme was.

"We? Malachi, there's no _we_! Ever since Adam in all his brilliance decided to set Mom up with Dimitri my life had gone from bad to worse. I was an outcast in High School because you! I enrolled here to get away from you and your stupid book!" she shouted. The lack of doctors rushing to the room to find out what was wrong with their patient just made her angrier and as soon as he looked ready to say something she cut him off, "I don't care how badly you need the information! The bears are dead, the government hauled them away, I'm trying to put it behind me, and what really makes me mad is that they put me in the hospital and you're not sorry at all! It's your fault they chased me home before Thanksgiving and it's your fault I'm here, but since you don't care about me and my well being, why don't you go talk to the hunters that already stopped by!"

Finally, Malachi's expression switched from one of patient understanding to confusion, "A hunter stopped by?"

"Steve Fleischman and Kevin Luttrell. They asked what happened, then they asked if I'd noticed any cold spots, strange lights or weird smells. FBI wouldn't ask about that unless they have a supernatural division and I'm pretty sure they don't."

Apparently Malachi agreed, because he left quickly to try and find these fake government agents.

Chelsea was still fuming when her roommate returned, a Taco Bell bag in one hand and a drink caddy in the other.

"Someone's in a bad mood. What happened?"

"Mom's boyfriend stopped by and asked what happened 'so we could stop it from happening again.'"

Alexi raised an eyebrow, "'We?'"

Chelsea nodded, wishing she could just break down and tell Alexi everything but settling for bawling her eyes out. She was grateful for the hug, but she was thrilled to see her roommate had brought food for both of them. Alexi's playful suggestion to "pretend the burrito was her mother's boyfriend and tear his head off" almost saw ground beef splattered around the room. Alexi seemed impressed by Chelsea's viciousness, nodding approvingly when she finished. She was still hungry after the first burrito, and stared at the empty bag in disappointment.

When the police arrived not much later, they asked the same questions that the fake FBI agents did, minus the supernatural phenomena. They seemed concerned that two men impersonating FBI agents had questioned her about the bears already, and quickly set off in an attempt to find them. Near the end of the day, Chelsea's family stopped by to visit again. Alexi squeezed her hand again and left, promising to be back in the morning to take her back to the suite.

"Are you okay honey?" her mom asked, squeezing her rather tightly. "When the school called and said you were in the hospital recovering from a bear attack I freaked out! Just thinking about my little girl getting mauled by those monsters, I almost threw the boys in the car and drove up here that night. What were you doing out that night anyway?"

With a loud sigh, Chelsea explained for the third time what had happened. Adam crossed his arms with a smirk, "Wow Chels, need somebody to take care of you all the time? First the bears chase you home and then come after you at school-"

The sudden growl from Chelsea shut him up quickly and he backed away, "Shut up twerp!"

Lynette gave a half-hearted, "Really guys?"

Taylor jumped onto the bed and said, "Don't worry Chelsea, just wear your silver cross necklace and they'll leave you alone!"

_I'm going to murder Malachi._ Chelsea thought, continuing to glare at Adam. Van Helsing was trying to mold them into hunters, acting like their sole experience with the supernatural meant they had to drop everything and follow his lead. She wanted a normal life damn it! She didn't want Taylor turning into a hardened killer like Malachi claimed to be, though if the life span was what he claimed she wouldn't mind encouraging Adam to go rushing headlong into danger. Well maybe not, but still! Malachi was slowly ruining her life and her family. How long would it be until he dragged them to some hidden bunker in the middle of nowhere, the better to train them all? If this was her future, she'd leave the country and go hide in Canada.

Lynette was chewing out Adam in the background while Taylor, trying to be helpful, recited verbatim all the ways to repel a werebeast. Chelsea rolled her eyes and said, "Taylor, I know you're trying to help but I don't wanna hear it right now."

Taylor's sad look almost made Chelsea take it back. Almost. She really wanted the issue dropped. Well she was in a hospital . . .

"Sorry buddy, I'm just tired."

That got her mother's attention, "Are we keeping you up Chelsea?"

Chelsea nodded. After a hug from her mother and Taylor, and discreetly flipping Adam off, her family left and she was alone. Not tired at all, she stared absently out the window and wondered what her life would've been like if she'd just stayed grounded. She might have been Homecoming Queen. Or Prom Queen.

A distant, mournful howl caught her attention, and she could barely make out a pair of large black dogs . . . on a roof? It was too hard to make out any distinguishing features, save that they were big dogs with large and erect pointed ears. One had a curled tail like a husky, the other did not. She wondered what they were doing up there. A third joined them, tail wagging, glancing toward her window for a long time before all three leapt from the roof and into the night.

Absently scratching her neck again, she curled up beneath the thin sheet and tried to get some sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chelsea sat on her bed at three in the morning, trying to figure out what was going on. At first she thought it had started the previous Friday when, as promised, Alexi returned in the morning to take her back to the dorm, explaining on the way that some people had gone home for a few days before coming back the Sunday before finals. But now she realized it had begun a little earlier, the night before Alexi took her out to dinner to be exact. There were angry red marks on her neck where she'd been scratching at it, and if she scratched it long enough a pair of white marks appeared, a couple inches apart. It took longer to go to sleep at night and it was harder to get up in the morning. She was drinking more water to soothe her almost constantly dry throat and would have sudden cravings for meat. Her vision and hearing were sharper and even her nose seemed more sensitive. She wore her dark sunglasses to protect her sensitive eyes, and any exposed skin gained a pinkish tinge like sunburn. She didn't know what was going on with Alexi either. The brunette and her parents now spoke entirely in rapid Spanish, though Chelsea could tell from their tone that they were worried about something. Their own interactions, now sparse thanks to finals, had changed too. Periods of wanted to be around her roommate were followed by periods of wanting to be left alone. Weirder still, Alexi seemed to know how she was feeling, welcoming her presence and giving her space in turn. It was so confusing she wanted to pull her hair out.

What was wrong with her? Was she turning into a freak?

She jumped when her tears soaked into her pajama pants. She wanted to deny the obvious answer: that she was turning into _something_, and that something wasn't human. Much as she hated Malachi and hunters in general, it was easier to ignore them as a human than to run away from them as a monster.

Why her? What had she done to deserve this? She'd always been a good girl, always helped out around the house, always did her chores without complaining too much.

_Adam_, her mind hissed. _He_ was the one who didn't do his homework and then tried to weasel his way out of punishment. _She_ had done nothing wrong. In fact, she'd been having a good day. She'd gotten a good grade on an assignment that had been giving her trouble, had arranged her date with Peter, and simply calling her brother a dweeb got her grounded. Really, her mother grew up with three other kids; it wasn't like they were perfect little angels all the time. She knew _they_ fought when they were little, it was what siblings _did_. Parents who thought forcing them to stay in constant contact would stop the fighting were only kidding themselves. Anger at her mother filled her next; if the woman had just overlooked Chelsea's jibe that afternoon then only Adam would've been grounded and there wouldn't be a Malachi Van Helsing hanging around their house like a bad smell.

Snorting softly, she glanced out the window. Her last final was in six hours and she'd been lying awake since ten o'clock. Stretching like a cat, she curled up on her bed and tried to get some sleep.

When the clock went off three hours later it felt like no time had passed. Groaning, Chelsea crawled out of bed and nearly crushed her alarm clock to silence it. She had three hours to get everything done before going home. She read through her notes once before packing her duffle bag and waking her roommate. A pale and irritated Alexi emerged from her bedroom, shot Chelsea a glare, and shuffled into the kitchenette. In short order they demolished breakfast and cleaned up the suite. The blonde scanned her notes a second time while Alexi took out the garbage and the brunette packed her last bag while Chelsea took care of the recycling.

After a third reading, Chelsea put her notes in a binder, glanced at Alexi and gave her a hug. They stood there for a while, not saying anything until Alexi murmured, "I've got to go."

"See you after Christmas."

"You too."

Chelsea grabbed her backpack and rushed out the door. Her sudden speed unnerved her, so much so that she came to a stop outside the library. What took her ten minutes at a walk took her about seven when running. She'd moved so quickly she had time to spare, but a small part of her enjoyed the speed, the feel of the wind against her skin, already flushing in the light of the sun. Chelsea ran the rest of the way, cutting what was normally a twenty minute trip into a fifteen minute one and arriving outside the classroom with time to spare.

She took her time with the algebra, making sure she understood everything before filling out the test and double checking everything. She still finished well ahead of schedule, turning in her test and calmly leaving the building before sighing in relief and running back to her suite. Having already packed her last bag, she threw it into the backseat and started the car.

Chelsea had to find out what was up with her roommate. Hence the current speeding down the interstate, hoping to have enough time to look at the book without Malachi breathing down her neck. She knew from prior experience that Malachi's relatives were few and far between, and that every single one of them would be out trying to protect people during the holidays. Christmas was three weeks away, and Malachi would be too busy doing his job to harass her. The book was usually kept in the guest room, disguised as an ancient dictionary thanks to a flash of genius on her mother's part. Chelsea knew the chance of the house being empty when she got home was 50/50, but with her brothers in school another week and her mother working she would have plenty of time during the day to find out what her roommate was . . . and what she was becoming. Hoping there was a way to find what she needed quickly, and she glanced around her for police cars before hitting the gas.

She slowed down significantly on the stretch of quiet road where she'd spotted the bears, straining her senses for any sign of more. The brown grass showed no sign of being disturbed, and Chelsea remembered the fact any bear with any sense would have eaten until it was fat as a pig and gone to sleep in a cave somewhere. Rolling her eyes at her own sense of worry, Chelsea enjoyed the rest of the ride.

Pulling into the drive and tossing her last duffle bag in her room, she went back down to the kitchen to read the note on the table.

_Chelsea,_

_Working late. The boys should be home on time. Love you!_

_Mom_

"Scatterbrained woman." She muttered to herself before her smile slid from her face. Her voice had changed too.

"I have got to find out what you turned me into." Chelsea whined, thundering up the stairs. She had been heading for the spare bedroom when the sudden sense of weakness hit. Dizzy, she closed her eyes and felt for the wall, trying to ignore the ringing in her ears and using her sense of smell to find her own room.

_Sleep. You need sleep. _A part of her mind was saying, and as she curled up on her own bed she couldn't help but agree. The blonde let her eyes close and she slept for a little while. The sound of the front door slamming open startled her and her nose picked up the scent of her brothers', but she was too out of it to care much. Instead she pulled the blanket over her head and slept on.

* * *

"Are you okay Chelsea?" her mother asked at dinner a few hours later.

Chelsea gave her a puzzled look, "Yeah I'm fine. Why?"

"You look kinda pale."

"I've had a long day Mom." She replied tiredly, crossing her fingers under the table and thinking _Please buy it, please buy it, please . . ._

Lynette's eyes went blank for a brief instant before saying, "Oh. Well, why don't go find something to watch on TV? Adam, you're helping with the dishes."

"But Mom I-"

"I don't wanna hear it young man. Your sister is tired and just got home from school, and you're grounded!"

"Why's he grounded?" Chelsea whispered to Taylor. The eleven year old possessed all the subtlety of a wrecking ball when he stage whispered, "He failed his science test."

Adam shot them both a dark look that Taylor cringed away from and Chelsea coolly returned. Adam looked away first, completely missing the small triumphant smirk on his sister's face. She left the table and Taylor followed, jabbering about what he learned at school that day while she flipped through channels in search of something to watch. Taylor eventually shut up and fell asleep on the other end of the couch, Adam fell into a chair with an angry huff and Mom joined them on the couch.

"So, how were finals?"

"I feel pretty good about them. Algebra gave me more trouble than Spanish did, but I think I did really well."

"Really? Funny I thought Spanish would get you for sure."

"Alexandra helped me out."

"How's she been?"

"She's much better now." _And I'm pretty sure she's not human. _"She really liked your soup, but thinks you should go easy on the red peppers next time."

At her mother's look of confusion she elaborated, "It upset her stomach."

And since the likelihood of the two families ever meeting was very slim, her mom probably wouldn't see the need to make taco soup for them.

The hours ticked by, Taylor was sent to bed at eight, Adam stomped up the stairs an hour later, and once the ten o'clock news was over Chelsea took a hot shower and pretended to go to sleep. Shortly after midnight everyone else was fast asleep, and the blonde made her way silently to the guest bedroom to grab the grimoire. Sliding the book off the shelf, she flipped it to the entry on vampires and skimmed through the information until reaching a list of types. The list itself was three pages long, each page hosting three columns each. Chelsea wanted to scream, but was mindful of the other occupants of the house. She didn't have time to read every stupid entry in here! Why couldn't this book be better organized?

Growling, she slammed the book shut and shoved it back onto the shelf, taking a few calming breaths and rubbing her temples. She stilled at a noise from Adam's room, waiting silently for a few minutes until she was assured he was asleep again before murmuring to herself, "Okay, I've got about a month to figure this out. Mom works five days a week, the boys only have two weeks off for break, and Malachi's in and out on a semi regular basis. I could do some reading at night when everyone's asleep. It's not like I'm actually tired."

Sitting cross legged with her back against the wall, she opened the book to the vampire entry again. The overall entries might be alphabetical, but the list of types seemed like they were added on a whim. She went back to her room and grabbed a notebook and pencil, scanning the list and writing down every vampire that started with A. The A group took several nights to read, and by the last week of the boys' semester, she finished that section and rubbed her temples again. Some of the vampires on the list weren't vampires at all. The Algul was a ghoul, the Apotamkin was a sea serpent, and the Aswang was a generic term for any supernatural creature. Though she wanted to continue, her bed was calling to her. Placing the book back on the shelf, she went back to bed.

* * *

The next night, Chelsea crept back to the guest room and pulled the book into her lap again. Methodically recording groups B, C, and D, she glanced at the clock and continued writing until roughly three in the morning. The task took her a few days and threw off her sleep schedule, but since she was by herself most of the day anyway it didn't bother her. By Friday morning the list was alphabetized. Now all she had to do was put on a happy face for the holidays and ignore Malachi's short visit and she would be left alone again to continue her research.

In the meantime her body was changing in ways that bothered her. Like Alexi before her, she was pale, tired, irritable, wasn't often hungry, and suffering from headaches. There were dark circles under her eyes now, her voice had an alluring quality to it, and when she went to brush her teeth one day she jumped back with a yelp. Her canines were longer and more pointed than normal. Chelsea growled and startled herself again. Since when did she growl? She sounded like an animal.

"I've gotta find out what you did to me soon." She moaned pitifully, unable to stop herself from touching her new fangs. Which, of course, cut through her skin and drew blood. Hissing sharply, she stuck her finger in her mouth. Once the blood hit her tongue, her eyes widened. It tasted so good, she eagerly sucked on her finger until it gave no more. Whining in disappointment, she washed and bandaged the cut before returning to the book and ignoring a growing sense of thirst. Her human thoughts returned when she'd relaxed into the easy chair. She had just drunk her own blood . . . and liked it. Feeling suddenly sick, she put the book aside and threw up in the half bath.

After nibbling a few crackers to settle her stomach, she returned to the chair and picked up where she left off. The boys wouldn't be home until 3:30, but Malachi could show up at any time. Each time a car drove by she paused and waited until they passed before returning to the book, reading the entry, and crossing it out. Eventually, a car pulled into the driveway. When her ears picked up the slamming of a car door, she bolted up the stairs and replaced the book before jumping the last few stairs and flipping on the TV. As she expected, one Malachi Van Helsing walked through the door.

Chelsea repressed the urge to growl and defend her territory. The inept hunter made his way to the kitchen to fix himself a sandwich. The scent of incense, wood smoke and various oils stung her nose. She felt threatened by him, wanted to get rid of this threat in her house. Her teeth elongated, which was just weird enough to snap her out of it.

Van Helsing might be a complete moron, but she grudgingly admitted that he knew his stuff. He'd told them all once over dinner that he would rather see them dead than married to or changed by some supernatural creature. If it came out that Chelsea was some kind of vampire, Malachi would kill her and not shed a tear over it. He would leave after that, because a lawsuit would surely be coming his way and technically he didn't exist.

"Home from school Chelsea?" he called from the kitchen.

She muttered under her breath, "Wish you weren't" and turned up the volume. Cringing at the noise, she turned it down again.

"Where's you necklace?"

Chelsea's hand felt around her neck like she was looking for it before replying convincingly, "Must've left it at school."

Honestly, she was planning on getting rid of it as soon as humanly possible; she couldn't touch the thing anymore without burning her fingers.

_Must be pure silver._ She thought, wondering if she could get away with a trip to the city and be back before her family got home. If she couldn't, Mom went back to work the week after Christmas, the boys went back to school the first Monday after the New Year, and Malachi would hopefully just go away. Her next breath turned into a cough. A cautious sniff of the air led to a sneezing fit. Malachi was dumping garlic on his sandwich.

_Have to get out have to get out!_ Her mind was screaming at her. Pausing only long enough to grab a jacket and shout "Going for a walk" Chelsea bolted from the house and didn't stop until she breathed clean air again. Her clutch was in one pocket, the silver necklace wrapped in tissues in another. Her watch said it was noon, and her brothers wouldn't be home until three thirty. A few rapid calculations in her head meant she would easily be able to get to the city and back by bus.

The cold didn't bother her as much as the weak winter sun, and with snow on the way, even that wouldn't be a problem for long. Her senses ranged out almost automatically, checking her surroundings for threats. Stray cats paused to stare. Some even hissed at her before slinking away. Dogs barked like crazy until she paused and growled back at them. A strange sense of victory filled her when the neighborhood Rottweiler shut up, rolled onto his back, and whined submissively. Apparently as some kind of vampire she was the unofficial top dog.

She snickered at the horrible pun and ran to the bus stop. Fifteen minutes later she was walking down familiar sidewalks in search of a pawn shop. An oddly sweet fragrance caught her attention. It was incense, but not the kind Malachi used. This was far milder, subtler, and she liked it. Following it, she paused at a dimly lit alleyway. Now she was nervous. Despite her sudden vampiric instincts, she was still just an eighteen year old girl. She stepped into it and felt something ripple over her, as if she'd disturbed something in the air. A glance behind her revealed little; it was almost like nobody could see her. Facing the alley again, she steeled herself and started walking.

The only thing she saw that was out of the ordinary was a black sign above a wooden door with the words Carpe Noctem in white paint. The incense smell was coming from inside. Glancing at the sign again revealed little. No address, no phone number, not even what the place was. Just Carpe Noctem. Swallowing nervously, Chelsea made sure the necklace hadn't shifted and that she still had her clutch on her person before cautiously opening the door. It looked like a consignment store, but better organized than the ones she'd been to. Robes of varying colors, what she swore looked like a line of broomsticks, and rows and rows of shelves. She started looking around, occasionally stopping for a closer look at something. This place stocked everything from foci to herbs to jewelry.

She was glancing at a mortar and pestle on one of the lower shelves when a sultry voice asked, "Light or Dark?"

WHAM!

A startled Chelsea hit the shelf above her, snarling in pain and clutching her now throbbing head.

The voice somewhere above her said, "Ah crap, I thought you could hear me coming. Are you okay? Are you bleeding?"

The hand at the edge of her vision retreated when she growled at it.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

Chelsea said nothing. When she quit seeing double she stood up, rubbing the bump on her head and hoping nobody would notice it. Her fangs had elongated again, much to her displeasure, and she couldn't shrink them. Thankfully the necklace hadn't shifted or she'd have bigger problems.

She assessed the woman watching her. Fair skin, brown hair, brown eyes, athletic build, all were quickly analyzed. Though she looked roughly twice Chelsea's physical age, some instinct told Chelsea she was much older. She didn't smell like a human, but the scent of other humans clung to her skin and clothing. Her real scent was oddly familiar, and with a jolt Chelsea remembered picking up the same smell three weeks ago on a couple sorority girls who had recently attended a party. The woman in front of her smelled like sex. Chelsea backed away and hissed while her instincts went crazy and shouted _Danger! Danger! Get away!_

The brunette slowly raised her hands to shoulder level, palms out, "Easy half breed, I'm not gonna hurt you."

Chelsea flushed and turned away, eying a row of tumbled stones. The sudden voice ringing out startled them both, "Bo? Do we have a customer?"

"Yes Granddad." Bo replied, clearing her throat and launching into a spiel Chelsea knew she'd spoken countless times, "Welcome to Carpe Noctem, the store for all your magical, supernatural and fantastic needs. My name is Bo and I'll be your assistant today."

The blonde thought this was the best shot she'd have, "When I stepped into the alley I thought I felt something move over me. What was it?"

Bo grinned. No one could enter the alley unless they had pure intentions, but this was the first time anyone had asked about it.

"A barrier, designed with our safety in mind. Any being with ill intent can't see the alley, so we're protected from hunters."

"What, exactly, is this place?"

"It's kinda like a specialty store, one that caters to multiple species. Weres come in for something to ease the pain of their transformation, shifters who want to connect better with their animal side, spirits who need direction or help crossing over, vampires who can't control their bloodlust, Wiccans doing their ritual shopping, and every so often we'll get a lost kid stumbling in here . . ."

Chelsea picked up on the part about bloodlust and waited for another opening. Feeling the necklace shift in her pocket changed her priorities.

"Can I sell stuff here?"

Bo didn't answer right away, appearing to consider her answer carefully.

"Depends on what you want to sell. What one creature considers beneficial another sees as a threat. We have to be careful either way. Were you considering selling something?"

In answer, Chelsea reached into her pocket and pulled out the wad of tissues, using them as a barrier between her skin and the necklace. Bo leaned over it with interest, "Hmm. Where'd it come from?"

"My mother's boyfriend."

"Don't like him?"

"I think he's an idiot."

"Ah. Right." Bo reached for the necklace before appearing to rethink her decision. "My grandfather can appraise this for you if you like."

"Please?"

"Sure. This way."

Chelsea followed Bo to the desk in the back of the store.

"Granddad can you appraise something for us?"

"Give me a second!" a man's voice shouted from the back room.

Bo hid her face in her hands and muttered something about ancient artifacts and crazy old men.

"I heard that!"

Chelsea snickered. The snickering stopped when a short man with thin grey hair entered the room and jumped onto a barstool. Bo provided a quick introduction, "My grandfather Patrick."

"Good afternoon. How may I be of assistance?"

Chelsea reached into her pocket for the necklace again before yanking her hand out with a yelp. The silver was exposed.

"Want me to get it?" Bo asked.

Chelsea nodded, sucking on her thumb and forefinger in an attempt to ease the pain. Bo laid out the silver necklace across the glass counter while Patrick pulled out a magnifying loupe to get a closer look.

Bo leaned over the counter and shouted, "Dyson, you back there?"

"Where else would I be right now Bo?"

"We got anything for silver burns?"

"I think so." Dyson shouted back. There was the sound of shifting boxes and muffled swearing before a blond man roughly the same age as Bo emerged triumphantly from the back. Bo snatched the little bottle out of his hands and uncorked it.

"Here, rub this into the burn. It'll heal it and keep it from scarring." Bo explained while Dyson huffed and left the room.

Patrick suddenly began speaking, "Very nice. Good quality, in excellent condition, pure as . . ."

Bo muttered under her breath, "Please don't say snow."

"Well the fact you can't touch it means it's quite pure. I'm assuming that's why you want to get rid of it?"

Chelsea nodded absently, watching the burn fade in fascination.

Patrick frowned. He'd overheard Bo's half breed comment, and had to wonder what the girl's parentage was.

"Do you know the history of the item?" he asked. The blonde vampiric looked away. To some this indicated obtaining the item through questionable means, but to Patrick it looked like she was afraid and ashamed. Bo picked up on it as well, "Hey, don't cry, I'm sure it's not that bad. C'mon kid, talk to us."

Her attempt to put her arm around the blonde's shoulders – an attempt to comfort her Patrick knew – was met with a low growl.

_Fear growl. She must be new to her instincts._ He thought as Bo backed off and said, "Right, right, sorry."

"It's my brother's fault." She finally said. Bo raised an eyebrow at Patrick, who shrugged in response.

"What do you mean it's your brother's fault?"

"One day two years ago, Mom grounded him for not doing his homework and then she grounded me for calling him a dweeb. I had a date planned and he wanted to go to some stupid concert. So he set Mom up on a date with a guy that turned out to be a vampire."

There was a growl from the back and Dyson reentered the room, "Who?"

"Dimitri Denatos."

Dyson glanced at Bo, "I remember he had gone missing. One of my friends said his coffin washed up in Finland and someone opened it in broad daylight."

"Was it Elena?" Bo asked with a grin.

"No!" Dyson exclaimed. When Chelsea's expression twisted in disgust and Bo's grin widened he uncrossed his arms and said "Yes" like a little kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"I heard a Van Helsing was involved." Bo commented offhandedly. "With the Dimitri thing." She elaborated at Dyson's scandalized look.

"There was."

"A Van Helsing?" Bo asked, ignoring Dyson's "And here I was hoping they'd died out."

"Malachi. My youngest brother realized Dimitri was a vampire and contacted him. Adam, the supposed-to-be-grounded brother, and me chased Dimitri all over town trying to save Mom, but he put her in a trance and took her to his house. Adam tried to use his coffin as a bargaining chip but Dimitri threatened to either kill or change the rest of us. Malachi got trounced when he showed up, Dimitri froze Adam and me and pulled us toward him, he went to bite Adam, Mom broke free, knocked him into his coffin and Malachi used silver plated nails to keep it shut. He's been dating Mom for like two years now, and trying to teach me, Adam, and Taylor how to be hunters like him. He gave me the necklace on my seventeenth birthday and started giving me extra lessons because I'm a single virgin."

Silence reigned. Eventually Patrick shook himself and asked, "Then what happened?"

"I went to a college. My first roommate was expelled and I was given a new one. She got sick, said it was iron deficiency, adjusted her diet and got better. One night near the end of the semester, I had a lot of work to do and not enough time to do it, and my roommate convinced me to take a break. I don't remember a lot from that night, but I slept really well. Then I started changing. If I scratch my neck long enough a couple scars appear, my sleep schedule is off, my throat is dry all the time, I'll have sudden cravings for meat, my senses are sharper, I can run faster, the sun bothers me, I can't touch silver and the smell of garlic makes it hard to breathe."

"Are both your parents human?"

"As far as I know."

"Your sire abandoned you?" Dyson demanded, angry.

"I don't know if my, sire," Chelsea tripped over the unfamiliar word, "Knows I exist."

"What?" Bo asked, confused. Dyson sighed and said, "That's kind of a deliberate thing. You don't just accidently sire someone, you have to mean it on some level."

Chelsea cocked her head, confused.

Bo seamlessly took over as Patrick continued his examination, "Put it this way. When a biting creature bites to change, they know on some level the human they're biting will become like them. It's possible your sire didn't mean to feed on you and turned you to keep you alive."

"You are aware of your species yes?" Dyson asked.

Bo reached across the counter and smacked him, "That's _way_ too personal Dyson, and it's none of our business!"

Rubbing at the red mark on his arm, Dyson grumbled and again left the room.

Patrick finished his examination and leaned back. The necklace was a very pure variety of silver, but would have to be melted down to remove impurities and reshaped into something that wouldn't harm any of his other customers. Among the species he catered to, silver was indeed a powerful thing. A talisman against werebeasts and vampirics alike, it was also useful for trading with other creatures. He could think of a few customers who would be willing to purchase the silver as it was, others who would wait until it had been purified, and still others who would only show interest if it had been reshaped. There were a few problems however.

The necklace didn't even weigh an ounce, and wouldn't fetch much in the human market. The vampiric lived among humans and, presumably, needed human currency. But even the dullest ogre could tell she was fighting against her instincts. She needed a way to curb the bloodlust or someone to teach her how to hunt. That she was still living with her human family was disheartening; those who were changed were eventually cast out, harmed, or even killed. Her future was a dark one indeed unless her sire or a coven took her in. She would only be able to hide for so long, and the oath all Van Helsings took after their hellish rites of passage would not permit this Malachi to let the young vampiric live. There wasn't much he could do for her unfortunately.

"What's your name kid?" he asked.

"Chelsea."

"Well Chelsea, here's the bad news. This is a nice necklace, it's in good condition, good quality silver, the works. On the human market it might get you three bucks. Find the right people and you might get more. It'll cost me money in the short term, have to remove the impurities and reshape it, even then it might sit here for years."

Boy he hated it when a customer looked ready to cry. Bo held her arms out and this time Chelsea didn't fight back. Dyson easily picked up on the change in mood, leaning around the corner in case he was needed.

"I don't think it would be here that long." He protested quietly.

"There's a 'but' in there somewhere right?" Bo asked Patrick.

"Well, yes, there is. You mentioned craving meat and having a dry throat right?"

"Uh-huh."

"That's bloodlust."

Though she expected such an answer, her face twisted in disgust.

"It's perfectly natural. Do you know who your sire is?"

"Kinda?"

"Such confidence." Dyson muttered, to which Bo replied, "I _will_ jump this counter Dyson."

"Okay, I'll take that as a no. Like Dyson and Bo said, no one is sired by accident. All sires know their children and all children their sires. When your sire is near you will know."

"How?"

Patrick launched into an explanation which flew right over Chelsea's head.

"You didn't understand any of that did you?" he asked when finished.

"Uh no."

"Didn't think so."

Bo took over, "You think you know your sire?"

Chelsea nodded.

"If you were close to your sire emotionally, then your siring feels like betrayal. On a subconscious level you both resent them and crave acceptance by them."

_That _made more sense.

"So when you cross paths with your sire again, confront them. Demand that he or she teach you their ways."

"What if they try to hurt me?"

"They can't. Vampiric law dictates a sire must take responsibility for their children. If a new vampiric goes on a killing spree, both they and their sire are punished." Bo replied.

"Alright," Patrick jumped back in to the conversation, "Bo, take Chelsea for a look around while I figure out what to do about the necklace issue."

Bo was quick to steer her into an aisle, gladly pointing things out and answering questions about them.

"This is what we like to call the pharmaceutical part of the store. It's where we keep the potions I was telling you about. This one," and she held out a tiny green bottle that looked like cough syrup, "Will curb your bloodlust. Take one drop when you get up in the morning, just one, and the next time you're home bring the bottle back. There's enough in here to last a couple months, which should be long enough for you to track down your sire. Will that be all?"

Chelsea thought for a moment. The silver cross, meant to protect her from harm, only kept her safe from vampires and werebeasts. What she needed was some sort of charm to protect her from anything that wanted to hurt her. When she asked if there was something like the barrier protecting the alley that she could buy for herself, Bo started laughing. Realizing Chelsea wasn't joking, she led her to another aisle, explaining the spells protecting the alley had been placed on ward stones and altered drastically over the years so that it was difficult to tell how many enchantments were bound to it.

"What exactly are you looking for?"

"Something that would protect me from those who wish me harm."

"I'm sensing a story behind this one."

"Three werebears chased me part of the way home Thanksgiving Break and surrounded me on campus a few weeks later."

Bo had been looking at something on a low shelf and promptly copied Chelsea's earlier movement. Swearing vehemently and rubbing the top of her head she turned and said, "Ye gods child! Did you piss somebody off in a previous life?"

"I . . . I dunno."

Bo hid her face in her hands though her muttering was still audible, "First a vampiric, then werebeasts. A general protective talisman won't hold out forever, but too many specialized pieces could neutralize each other. Jesus this is gonna be hard."

She began looking at all the jewelry, discounting anything with silver in it. Her hand paused at a row of necklaces, a look of concentration on her face.

"I wonder . . ."

She reached for a silver colored amulet, with three concentric circles surrounding a polished white-grey stone. The smallest ring was made of zodiac signs, the middle of animals, and the largest of moon phases. Though it was only about an inch in diameter, every detail was surprisingly intricate. Every symbol was clearly visible, every animal looked almost real.

"This might work," Bo was saying, holding the amulet up to the light. "It's platinum, close to the same color as silver so it won't hurt you. This will protect you from werebeasts. You know what determines their transformations right?"

"Lunar phases, astrological signs and planetary alignment." Chelsea rattled off. At Bo's impressed look she explained, "Van Helsing has a grimoire."

"Oh. Well like I said, this amulet provides protection against werebeasts. Each individual ring is keyed toward a certain group of them, and the three combined cover the more unusual transformations. Got something that only transforms in the waxing crescent under Capricorn during the year of the rat? This will keep it at bay."

Chelsea giggled. Bo rolled her eyes and continued, "This is a moonstone. Leave it somewhere where it can absorb energy from the night and it will protect you better from the sun. It won't protect you from 'everything' but many of the Light creatures have the live and let live mindset. Leave them alone and they'll leave you alone."

"And the Dark ones?"

Bo frowned, "Both Light and Dark carve out territories with clearly marked boundaries. Some are more protective of their territory than others. That might've been why the bears came after you in the first place. Once your sire starts teaching you, then you'll be more able to defend yourself."

"What about the silver necklace?"

Bo sighed audibly, "We might be able to work out a trade."

Chelsea sure hoped so; she was running low on allowance money and had to catch the bus back home. The green bottle in one hand and the amulet in the other, Bo led Chelsea back to the counter. Patrick glanced at the items on the counter and nodded approvingly.

"So I was thinking straight up trade," Bo began, unaware of the memory that had just smacked Chelsea in the face. "The bloodlust potion and a protective amulet in exchange for the necklace."

Chelsea thought she was getting the better deal here; she left the necklace behind and walked away with two items. Patrick seemed to be thinking along the same lines, he _did_ own a business after all.

"Did you take the bus here?"

Chelsea nodded.

"Probably need bus fare then." He muttered to himself, before saying louder, "Alright here's what I'm thinking. The potion, the amulet, and four bucks, all in exchange for the necklace."

Chelsea checked her watch and tried not to panic. She'd been gone roughly forty-five minutes and wasn't lucky enough to have Malachi either not be home or question her long absence.

"Okay."

They shook hands on it and Bo walked her to the edge of the alley.

"Bring the bottle back when you're home again, 'kay?"

Chelsea nodded and ran to the bus stop. The ride back seemed to take forever, thought it was only about twenty minutes. After walking around for a while before heading home, she noticed the same dog who had submitted to her before hide in the doghouse this time.

Checking her watch, she discovered she'd been gone a little over an hour now, and still had plenty of time before everyone else got home. Sadly, Malachi was still there.

"Where've you been?" he asked, lounging on the couch and watching that same stupid vampire movie Adam had been watching before the Dimitri incident.

Chelsea said nothing, just ran up the stairs to hide her purchases.


End file.
